First Build Glue Help Please

[DamonH]

I'm always surprised by how many out of scale planks I see. Modelers who are obsessed with planking a hull and finishing it bright "to show the planking" often pay little regard to the dimensions of their scale planking. Planking without any regard for scale width or length is commonly seen. While plank width may be uniform, planks longer than 25 or 30 feet long aren't commonly seen in the real world. Beyond the limitations of tree size, there are the limitations in milling, handling, transporting, and hanging long, heavy planks. Just because the kit provides 24" long strips for planking a 1:96 model doesn't mean the prototype had 192-foot-long planks!

AS I've watched YT video's I noticed no one takes this into consideration. It would seem to me as a person who built a career on tight detail would be something I should do.

So, I will after doing the Albatros, start with another using cut planks and lay them using shorter planks to achieve a nicer "real world" look and feel to the model.

Each step I do in the starter kit makes me extremely happy as I know I am building my skills for more complicated builds.

Ultimate goals: Cutty Sark, Enterprise, and Constitution.
All ships I simply love.

Cheers!

 

[Bob Cleek]

Ultimate goals: Cutty Sark, Enterprise, and Constitution.
All ships I simply love.

Those three are surely beauties, but they are rather "overdone," particularly Cutty Sark and Constitution. How many do you think there are in the world at this point? Hundreds? Thousands? Pick your own poison, but I'd suggest while you are completing present projects you consider making your next model a scratch build of a similar vessel that has been overlooked and not as often modeled. The work is little different, the challenges the same, and you'll end up with a unique model of a perhaps overlooked vessel that will be a real contribution to the historical record instead of just another one of many however well-done, but identical man-cave decorations. This is especially true of the clipper ships of which so many were built in such a short span of time. I'll wouldn't be surprised if there are beautiful clipper ships for which sufficient historical documentation exists but which actually have never been modeled, at least modernly, Check out The American Built Clipper Ship, 1850 -1856 by William Crothers. (https://www.amazon.com/American-Built-Clipper-Ship-1850-1856-Characteristics/dp/1635617332) (Buy yourself a new Byrnes Model Machines table saw and mill your own wood. You'll save enough on the scratch build over buying a kit to cover the cost of the saw and then some.) Just sayin.' Knock yerself out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_clipper_ships and https://archive.org/details/WEBB-BodyPlanCrossSectionsPlanHalfBreadthPlan

Your mileage may vary. I'm just trying to encourage the progress of ship modeling here beyond the limits of what's on the hobby shop shelves.

 

[Roger Pellett]

I agree with Bob. Another Good Clipper ship reference often available very inexpensively on used book sites and Amazon is Howard Chapelle’s the Search for Speed Under Sail. This book traces the development of fast sailing ships from the approximate time period- 1740 to 1860. There are many lifetimes of ship modeling in this book illustrated by Chapelle’s magnificent technical drawings. Large scale copies of these are available from the Smithsonian at reasonable cost. There are drawings of about a dozen clippers in the book plus a number of clipper schooners.

Roger

 

[DamonH]

I appreciate the encouragement to do scratch built. These three ships mean something special to me. All three are the three my pop loved and always wanted to build himself. He never had the chance. I love modeling as well. Built the cutty sark in plastic once for him. In return he sent me the wooden model before he passed. So, I WILL do that that in his honor.
The other two will also be done in his honor and the fact I simply love them.
I don't care if others have done them. I haven't. Someday I will do a scratch built. It will be some US ship from the 1700-1800's. I have to do some research into it. Also will need the tools which I do not have access to atm.

 

[tball4217]

Those three are surely beauties, but they are rather "overdone," particularly Cutty Sark and Constitution. How many do you think there are in the world at this point? Hundreds? Thousands? Pick your own poison, but I'd suggest while you are completing present projects you consider making your next model a scratch build of a similar vessel that has been overlooked and not as often modeled. The work is little different, the challenges the same, and you'll end up with a unique model of a perhaps overlooked vessel that will be a real contribution to the historical record instead of just another one of many however well-done, but identical man-cave decorations. This is especially true of the clipper ships of which so many were built in such a short span of time. I'll wouldn't be surprised if there are beautiful clipper ships for which sufficient historical documentation exists but which actually have never been modeled, at least modernly, Check out The American Built Clipper Ship, 1850 -1856 by William Crothers. (https://www.amazon.com/American-Built-Clipper-Ship-1850-1856-Characteristics/dp/1635617332) (Buy yourself a new Byrnes Model Machines table saw and mill your own wood. You'll save enough on the scratch build over buying a kit to cover the cost of the saw and then some.) Just sayin.' Knock yerself out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_clipper_ships and https://archive.org/details/WEBB-BodyPlanCrossSectionsPlanHalfBreadthPlan

Your mileage may vary. I'm just trying to encourage the progress of ship modeling here beyond the limits of what's on the hobby shop shelves.

those kits are overdone in many ways. But then again, you can say the same of Victory.. As the writer Holly Lisle said in her "guide to writing" book, paraphrased as my memory sucks

"If you go into a book store and see 2 similar covers, say elf girl and wizard and a dragon.. its ok to write in. But when you see 5 or 6 current books with that type of cover, the genre and market is over filled. When you break 10 different books with that story concept, its to be avoided unless your idea is actually unique and not found in any of those titles"

 

[DamonH]

those kits are overdone in many ways. But then again, you can say the same of Victory.. As the writer Holly Lisle said in her "guide to writing" book, paraphrased as my memory sucks

"If you go into a book store and see 2 similar covers, say elf girl and wizard and a dragon.. its ok to write in. But when you see 5 or 6 current books with that type of cover, the genre and market is over filled. When you break 10 different books with that story concept, its to be avoided unless your idea is actually unique and not found in any of those titles"

I agree normally, but as with any hobby I tell people BUILD WHAT YOU WANT. Not what others think YOU should build.

 

[zvez]

Beginner here. Back in the 70s I built and flew radio control balsa airplanes, at about that time Cynoacrylate came on the model building scene, and recall it revolutionized kit building for the those in the RC hobby. Prior to that I used titebond and also epoxy two part glues.
Reading thru this thread it seems a combination of PVA (titebond) and CA (cynoacrylate) depending on the construction? I looked thru here and didn't find a mention of specific CA to use? Recommendations?

 

[zvez]

Beginner here. Back in the 70s I built and flew radio control balsa airplanes, at about that time Cynoacrylate came on the model building scene, and recall it revolutionized kit building for the those in the RC hobby. Prior to that I used titebond and also epoxy two part glues.
Reading thru this thread it seems a combination of PVA (titebond) and CA (cynoacrylate) depending on the construction? I looked thru here and didn't find a mention of specific CA to use? Recommendations?

I misspoke I found this link to be quite informative, it's from 23 so I take it the advice would still work. If I remember correctly from my RC building days, "hot stuff" was the name of the CA we used, this would be ca. 1974. https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/cynoacrylate-or-ca-glues.13021/

I think this is the stuff we used back in the day? ANyone with experience with it? Suitability? https://www.caglue.com/Hot-Stuff-Original_c_15.html

 

[Roger Pellett]

I am a scratch builder. I am working on a very long term project, a Great Lakes Freighter. The ship that I am modeling was a steel hulled vessel. The model features a carved hull, aka a solid hull model. The hull is “plated” with paper to simulate the riveted hull plating. I’m explaining this in detail as it may or may not apply to you.

I use three types of adhesives: PVA glue (Titebond II), Epoxy (JB Weld, Original Formula), and Nitrocellulose (Duco Cement). I do not find CA glue to be necessary nor do I Like using it.

My project requires a lot of brass fabrication and for this I use soft lead free solder. I do not find hard (silver solder) to be necessary. For situations where it’s necessary to attach metal to wood I use JB Weld or sometimes Duco Cement. Wherever possible I also provide a mechanical fastener such as a pin for these wood/metal joints.

As for many things there’s no “right” answer. Choose long lasting adhesives that fit your skills and work habits. Avoid rubber based adhesives.

Roger

 

[Corsair]

I misspoke I found this link to be quite informative, it's from 23 so I take it the advice would still work. If I remember correctly from my RC building days, "hot stuff" was the name of the CA we used, this would be ca. 1974. https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/cynoacrylate-or-ca-glues.13021/

I think this is the stuff we used back in the day? ANyone with experience with it? Suitability? https://www.caglue.com/Hot-Stuff-Original_c_15.html

There are many different brands. For the top brands, Zap is good and also the various private label ones by Bob Smith Industries (BSI) as well as Hot Stuff (which is still around). Many people have issues with the CA glues due to odor/fumes. If you read the directions, it does say use in a well ventilated area. If you can have a small fan blowing across your workbench, that is optimal.
One of the drawbacks to CA is that it penetrates the wood, so if you are planning to stain the wood, the stain will not work where the CA is in the wood.

Hope that helps !